From the pit to the cloud: Unifying mining operations

Client background

A well-established global supplier of precious metals, specializing in gold, silver and related materials, has more than a century of operating history. The organization is among the longest‑standing publicly traded precious metals companies in North America. Today, it operates multiple active mining sites and exploration properties across the United States and Canada. 

The business challenge

Over time, the customer’s technology landscape evolved into a highly complex mix of legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, including multiple versions of IFS Apps, a legacy Sage product (X3), other packaged solutions and custom-built tools. This complexity was largely driven by years of mergers and acquisitions, resulting in fragmented systems, inconsistent processes and limited enterprise visibility. 

Each mining site operated largely independently, increasing operational risk, complicating reporting and constraining the organization’s ability to scale efficiently. While an ERP upgrade was initially considered, Baker Tilly’s assessment determined that a full reimplementation was necessary to achieve meaningful process standardization, data consistency and long‑term return on investment. 

 Key solution requirements included: 

• A secure, hosted cloud platform for core business operations 
• Enhanced asset management capabilities 
• A simplified, modernized application landscape 
• Scalability to support future acquisitions 
• A flexible foundation for continuous process improvement 

Strategy and solution

Baker Tilly is leading an end‑to‑end implementation of IFS Cloud, aligning business processes and data across all mining locations to a single, standardized operating model. Leveraging Baker Tilly’s proven implementation methodology, Baker Tilly is responsible for solution design and configuration, business process optimization, comprehensive system testing and data migration and validation.  

To support the client’s operational requirements for the initial go-live site, Baker Tilly designed, developed and validated 14 tailored enhancements, including configurations and reports that directly support the client’s business objectives. 

Beyond ERP delivery, Baker Tilly brought its broader digital and transformation capabilities to the engagement. Given the complexity of legacy data and limited internal IT capacity, the team introduced a “Data First” approach, leveraging Baker Tilly’s Data and Analytics expertise. Legacy data was consolidated into the client’s existing Microsoft Azure environment and centralized in a data lake to support transformation, documentation and audit readiness, critical for a publicly traded organization. 

A key differentiator of Baker Tilly’s approach is its integrated organizational change management (OCM) capabilities. Early in program planning, the client partnered with Baker Tilly to establish a network of Change Agents across the organization, enabling consistent, company wide communication of project updates. Baker Tilly’s flexible delivery model emphasized two-way communication through this network and supported the development of a targeted training strategy aligned to the client’s operational and organizational needs, helping drive adoption and long-term value realization. 

Results

IFS Cloud went live at the client’s initial location on schedule , marking the first deployment of the client’s standardized IFS Cloud common model, excluding EAM, which was not required for that site). Baker Tilly also engaged IFS Hypercare services to provide enhanced post‑go‑live support and escalation assistance. The client is now using IFS Cloud for robust financial reporting, streamlined procurement and inventory management, enhanced project management capabilities and a more efficient, modern user experience. 

This initial deployment, intentionally launched at a smaller site, validated the solution design and go‑live strategy in preparation for larger rollouts planned across the year. Baker Tilly supported an accelerated deployment timeline while concurrently managing ongoing testing cycles and supporting audit and control requirements tied to the client’s public company status. 

Compliance was strengthened by directly mapping SOX controls to test scenarios, ensuring critical controls were tested and documented prior to go‑live. A dual‑validation data migration strategy, validating data both before extraction and after migration into IFS Cloud, created a clear audit trail, reduced compliance risk and established a repeatable framework for future deployments. 

During the engagement, Baker Tilly also identified the need for a broader enterprise data strategy initiative. This work is now underway, addressing data needs across mining operations, safety and sustainability and establishing a long‑term analytics roadmap that complements the IFS Cloud platform and enables data‑driven decision‑making enterprise‑wide across procurement, inventory, enterprise asset management (EAM), financials, mining operations, safety management and sustainability initiatives. 

Looking to the future

The mining company and Baker Tilly will continue to test and validate the IFS Cloud solution design ahead of the next go-live. Maintenance and EAM functionalities will be a large component in the remaining go-lives, expanding the breadth of the IFS Cloud solution for the client. 

Turn to Baker Tilly for your IFS implementation journey 

Baker Tilly helps mining organizations modernize operations and unlock value through IFS Cloud. With deep industry experience and a team of IFS-certified professionals, we bring both technical execution and practical business insight to every engagement. 

From strategy and system design to implementation and ongoing support, we work alongside your team to reduce risk, improve visibility and drive measurable outcomes. Our approach is built to scale, helping you standardize processes across sites while creating a flexible foundation for future growth. 

Ready to transform your operations with IFS Cloud?